Call for Submissions: Regionals at the Rotunda

Help showcase the power of the regional campuses by presenting your undergraduate research or creative work to Indiana legislators at a special event!

The Regionals at the Rotunda event is an opportunity for students to present research, scholarship, economic, and creative projects. Submitted projects must be completed by the end of the fall 2025 semester. We welcome projects from any academic discipline, with preference for work that has a regional or community focus. This is a chance to highlight how your work contributes to a greater understanding of Indiana’s unique identity, challenges, and opportunities.

Important Dates

Proposal Submission Deadline: Thursday, October 30, 2025

Poster Submission Deadline: Friday, January 9, 2026

Event Date: February 18, 2026

Location: Indiana State Capitol, Indianapolis, IN

Submission Guidelines

Eligibility: Open to all undergraduate students currently enrolled at one of the IU regional campuses.

Project Focus: Preference will be given to projects that include a regional focus on Indiana, examining a topic related to the state’s communities, industries, landscapes, culture, or history. Please clearly state any relationships your project has to Indiana, whether those are direct or indirect connections. Submissions from all disciplines are welcome.

Formats Accepted: Poster presentations, including poster displays of creative work. Templates will be provided for all accepted projects.

Application Requirements: Abstract or summary (150 to 200 words) describing your project’s purpose, methodology, creative approach, results, and connection to Indiana and/or your region. Brief letter (1 page, double-spaced) of support from faculty mentor addressing connection of work to Indiana, broadly speaking, and why this project is a good candidate. Please also include a cover letter (one page, double-spaced) explaining in your own words the research or creative work, a brief summary of what your role is in the research or creative work, and how the research or creative work is significant in your area of study. Please also explain any connections your project has to the state of Indiana, your local community, or an issue that is important to the state of Indiana. You can review previous selected abstracts in last year’s program.

Selectivity: Eight projects will be selected from each regional campus. Faculty mentors of selected projects will receive $1,000 to support their future research. Faculty mentors and selected student presenters are expected to attend the Regionals at the Rotunda event, a celebration dinner the evening of February 17, and training workshops held ahead of the event.

Submission steps: Submit abstract, letter describing your role in the project, and letter of support from a faculty mentor. Students and the faculty mentor should each complete the submission form: using the following link: https://iu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4MjSTgN6mjPGSYC

For questions, please contact your campus representative:

IU South Bend – Stacie Merken, smerken@iu.edu

Photo source: IU East

• Course Description:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 All majors and levels of students are invited to enroll in this class on a deeply important topic in American history. Writings and films by and about African American leaders and authors will be your primary teachers in this class. We will look at the history of discrimination and resistance to racial discrimination as well as the survival, cultural creation, and achievements of African Americans, 1880-present.  In addition to midterm and final exams, you will have a choice of a brief research presentation or creative project in your own area of interest in African American history since 1880.

• Course Date and Time:Section #28589 Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00pm-2:15pm

• For more information: Professor Monica Tetzlaff, IUSB History Department mtetzlaf@iu.edu                                                                                             

The Career & Internship Fair is Tuesday, October 28, noon-3:00 p.m., in the Student Activities Center. The fair is open to everyone—students, alumni and the public.  There is no cost to attend. There will be free professional portraits and free resume printing available.

Please join us for the 2025 Distinguished Research Award Lecture on November 13th at 5pm in DW1001. Jonathan Nashel, Professor of History, will be presenting his research titled “America, Vietnam, and the ‘White Spaces’ of History.” This event is free and open to the public and there will be a reception outside DW1001 after the talk

The History Club invites all students to join them on their Fall trip to Chicago’s Field Museum, Saturday, October 18th. The cost is only $10 per student, covering both roundtrip train fare on the SouthShore and museum admission (Students must cover any food expenses, as well as any additional charges for special exhibits and such.).  We plan to depart from the South Bend airport at 9:00 a.m. (EDT) that Saturday (18th), and will return to the airport just after Midnight, the 19th.

Please sign up as soon as you can with Club Treasurer, Robby Smith
(smitro@iu.edu). To secure your spot, he will need the following:

1) $10 in cash
2) Name
3) Student ID #
4) Mobile #
5) University E-mail address

You can either give these directly to Robby, or you can simply leave them for him in a sealed envelope under office door DW 3273, Wiekamp Hall.  Hurry while seats remain!  We hope you can join us!​

Photo credit: Chicago Field Museum

This year the primary professional conference for historians, the American Historical Association conference, will be right next door, in Chicago (January 8-11)! It is a great opportunity for students to learn about careers in history and the field in general. The History Department is ready to sponsor the registration, train fare, and one or two nights in the conference hotel for History majors, minors, and Art History minors interested in attending.

History or art history students who have research projects they would like to present in a lightning round or poster panel for undergraduates might consider submitting their work. See more details about this opportunity at this link. The due date is October 15. Presenting at the AHA would be a great line to have on your resume or as part of an application for graduate school.

If you are ready to join us at the AHA, please fill out this form

Contact Dr. Zwicker (zwicker@iu.edu) with specific questions.

Congratulations to Indiana University South Bend graduate Cain Thurston who has secured a new Teaching position with Jackson Intermediate Center.

The National Council on Public History is hosting its inaugural virtual Grad Fair on October 9 & 10, 2025. This two-day event will combine a career fair-style “Virtual Program Hall” experience with live and pre-recorded sessions for prospective grad students. 

The goal is to demystify graduate school and everything surrounding it, while providing prospective students with time to meet “face to face” (via Zoom rooms) with grad program directors and faculty. In addition to the opportunity to go from virtual booth to virtual booth to collect information and network, they’ll be hosting live sessions geared at undergraduate students from 3:00 – 5:00 pm Eastern both days (four live sessions in total) in addition to a repository of pre-recorded sessions about the public history field from NCPH committees.

Prospective grad students can register now for FREE at https://community.ncph.org/event/GradFair2025. Prospective students should select the free prospective student ticket. High school teachers, undergraduate history professors and administrators not representing a grad program, and parents of prospective students should select the option that best applies, although all options are free.

In addition to the Grad Fair, NCPH also recently published The Graduate Student Handbook: Choosing and Thriving in a Public History Program. This free resource tackles every aspect of grad school, from choosing and applying to the right program (and paying for it) to succeeding in the program. We encourage you to share this resource with undergrads and grad students alike.

For any additional questions, please reach out to Meghan Hillman the Program Manager of NCPH at meghillm@iu.edu

If you have not already done so, now is the time to enroll in your Fall 2025 courses! Enrolling early helps ensure you get the classes and schedule that work best for you, and it supports the department in planning for a strong semester. Don’t wait—take a moment today to check your class options and finalize your schedule.

If you need assistance with appointment scheduling, you might email sbadvise@iu.edu or call 574-520-4550. You can also visit the Undergraduate Advising Center located in the Administrative Building and ask a Peer Mentor or Administrative Assistant, Quinn Newell, for help.